Not upheld: Home insurance claim disputes complaint against Accelerant Insurance UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P claimed under an insurance backed guarantee for a conservatory roof after the builder ceased trading without obtaining a Building Control Certificate. He argued the guarantee should cover the costs of obtaining the certificate from the council. Accelerant declined the claim, stating there was no evidence of a defect in the insured works as required by the policy. The ombudsman upheld Accelerant's decision, finding that Mr P provided only an assumption of a defect rather than evidence of physical defective workmanship or materials. The policy definition of 'Insured Works' does not include certification, and the ombudsman concluded the claim did not fall within the agreed areas of cover.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the FCA's ICOBS 8.1 requirements for fair claims handling and examined whether the claim fell within the policy's defined scope of cover. The policy clearly defined a 'Defect' as a physical fault or error caused by defective workmanship or defective materials. Mr P failed to provide evidence of any such physical defect; he only assumed one existed because the BCC was not issued. The ombudsman found that certification/BCC issuance was not part of the 'Insured Works' as the works must have been 'carried out by the Contractor' to be covered. Without evidence of a physical defect meeting the policy definition, the claim did not fall within the agreed areas of cover.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website